Songbird: The Awakening
by charmscale
Summary: Songbird has lost her parents and her previous life, and needs a place to hide. Fortunately, she has found a position on a team of shadowrunners. What is Songbird running from? Will her strange connection with spirits of all sorts prove to be a blessing, or a curse?
1. Chapter 1

Shadowrun is a catch all term for illegal activity. Someone wants some private info off a corp computer? It's a shadowrun. Need something stolen? Shadowrun. Want an assassination? It's a shadowrun, though hopefully not one I'll ever have to do.

A shadowrunner is, by definition, someone who completes shadowruns. That's me, now. I swallowed. And this was my first shadowrun.

Our job was to plant a bug. Plant a bug, and either keep it on the down low or make it look like a robbery. The client would prefer it if there was no incident, but knew that wasn't always possible, so they had offered an alternative.

In the van, I shifted nervously. My gear was the best money could buy. Smartgun pistol made of light, undetectable polymers? Check. Bulletproof vest? Check. Bulletproof helmet with trodes for matrix connection? Check. Goggles, with smartgun targeting, nightvision, heatvision, vision magnification, and vision enhancement? Check. Biomonitor, connected to a super platinum Docwagon contract? Check. Top of the line commlink? Check. Experience with this kind of drek? Uncheck. Nope. None.

Beside me, Jazz was, as usual, bopping to music only she could hear. The spikes of her purple hair bobbed as she nodded her head, and her purple sparkly nails flashed in the light as she waved her hands to the beat. Eyes closed, she silently sang along to the words. Key word, silently. No one wanted to actually hear her sing, not even Shark, her boyfriend.

While Jazz was human, like me, Shark was a troll. He had to crouch on the floor and hunch to fit in the back of the van, and, even then, his horns brushed the ceiling. He looked uncomfortable. I flashed him a sympathetic smile, and he flashed me one back. His tusks plus the dual rows of sharp teeth that gave him his name looked intimidating as all hell, but I had known him long enough to know he was a softie at heart.

He was our street samurai. One mechanical arm held a machine pistol. The other held a electrified katana. Top rated wired reflexes, plus some reaction enhancers, made him insanely fast. His muscle augmentation made him insanely strong. Muscle toning, insanely agile. Titanium bone lacing added to his natural troll toughness, as did his orthoskin. The shark like roughness of the orthoskin was the other source of his moniker. I wasn't sure what else about him was modified, and I didn't really care. Despite being more chrome than flesh at this point, he had a big heart in more than the literal sense.

The van stopped. Alpha, our genderfluid team leader, turned and gripped my shoulder. Tonight she was female, though small busted, with red hair in a waist length braid. She'd decided to add a tat to her tanned skin, a butterfly covering all of one cheek. As I watched, its wings fluttered slightly. "You ready, Song?" she asked me.

Jazz smirked nastily. "Yeah, Songbird, time to show us what you're made of."

Alpha gave her a dirty look. "Jazz, shut it. Remember, you were new once, too."

"We all were," rumbled Shark.

"Well, the rest of us were never pampered corporate-" Jazz stopped at the look on Alpha's face. "Sorry, boss."

"It doesn't matter what we were," Alpha said firmly. "All that matters is what we are now." She turned to me. "Song, go."

I closed my eyes and slid into the astral plane. Shark was the muscle. Jazz was the hacker. Alpha was the brains. I… I was the magic.

Everything always looks so different on the astral plane. Alpha's aura shone the bright, martial colors of a powerful adept. Shark's was dim, almost smothered by the chrome. Jazz's was pretty normal, at least at first glance. It took some really deep assensing to see her true power.

Astral travel was fast. Slower if you were sneaking, but still fast. Within seconds I was inside the compound. Most places had security against exactly what I was trying, but I thought I could get around it. Provided it was a mana barrier or critter, that is. Spirits, I wasn't so sure.

Something about my aura made me more visible to spirits of all sorts. It also made them like me more, but the added visibility was a big problem. When I'd been a kid, Dad's ally spirit, Willow, could always find me, no matter where I tried to hide. Mom's fettered spirit, Tenriu, could do the same. Now that I was a runner, my added visibility was more than just a nuisance, or a way for parents to track me. It was dangerous.

And it looked like my luck was in. Their version of magical security was hellhounds. The dogs patrolled with their handlers outside the building. I counted six. Ok, not good, but doable. Definitely doable.

Walls were no barrier to my astral form, so I melted through them, into the building. It was a research facility, full of labs and top notch security. The security tonight seemed to consist primarily of the hellhounds outside and a few patrolling guards. Well, the magical and living security, at least. The technological security was Jazz's problem. I knew that, as I scouted the astral plane, she scouted the Matrix.

I decided to check the labs, just to be thorough. I poked my head through one of the lab doors.

Immediately, I jerked it out again. If I had a body, my heart would be pounding. As it was, it was a good thing there was nothing around that could look into the astral, because I had slipped abruptly into full visibility. Shaking, I slipped into astral sneak mode once more, and peered through the door again.

The wrongness about the lab that had shocked me before was still there. Four silent, vaguely humanoid forms were the source. I couldn't tell what they were, but something about them was so very, very unnatural. I shuddered.

I tried to tell what the forms were, but something about them kept sliding my astral sight away from them, like my brain didn't really want to believe they were there. After a few long minutes, I gave up, and headed back to my body. Alpha had to know about this.

"So what's the scoop?" Alpha asked me as, back in my body, I opened my eyes.

"There's something..." I realized I didn't know how to explain what I'd seen. "There's something horrible in one of the labs. Something… wrong." I remembered what I'd seen, and I felt sick. "Excuse me…"

I opened the door of the van, leaned over, and puked onto the asphalt. Alpha placed a concerned hand on my shoulder. "Breathe, Sara. Just breathe."

Behind me, I heard Jazz ask, "What the frag is up with Song?" Shark rumbled a quiet answer.

I sat up. Alpha handed me a water bottle and a packet of tissues. I swished some water, spat out the door, and took a big gulp. Then I wiped my mouth with a tissue. "I'm good," I mumbled.

"Is the run off?" rumbled Shark.

Alpha looked thoughtful. "Can you tell me more about the… whatever it was you saw, Song?"

I shook my head. "It looked wrong!"

"So you said. Did it also look dangerous?" Alpha asked.

"No, but-" I began.

"Was it near the camera plant site?" Alpha asked.

"Well, no," I admitted. "But, Alpha, I've never seen anything like it! It was-"

"Wrong. So you said." Alpha chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Provided you don't look at it in the astral again, it shouldn't be a problem." She looked to each of us. "The run is a go."

I frowned, but didn't object further.

After a brief discussion of Jazz's recon, in addition to the other things I'd seen, the four of us filed out of the van. Alpha nodded to Jazz. "Lights out."

Jazz closed her eyes for a few seconds, and, suddenly, the lights within the perimeter went out. In the distance, I heard swearing, and a dog howl.

"You're certain the guards were all human?" Alpha asked me. I nodded. "And, Jazz, you took out their nightvision glasses?"

Jazz grinned. "The idiots slaved them to the same comm. Easy."

Alpha nodded. "I'm on point. I want Songbird right behind me. Shark, you've got our six. Go." With that, she vaulted the recently de-electrified fence. Shark boosted me up, and then Jazz. Then he hauled his own bulk over, making the fence groan under his weight.

"Who's there?" A voice nearby called. "You've got 5 seconds to identify yourself, and then I sick the hound on you!"

Alpha drew her pistol and fired several silent shots. The dog yelped, and went down. Its handler swore, and punched a button on his comm. Nothing happened. Then Shark took him out with a fist to the head.

We were almost to the door when Jazz hissed. "Alpha! Their security spider is online!"

Alpha grimaced. "Hold them as long as you can, Jazz. Shark, stay with her. Song and I will-"

And then all hell broke loose.

The lights snapped back on. Jazz collapsed with a scream, clutching her head. Someone shouted, "There they are!" and suddenly every hellhound was racing toward us. But the worst, the worst, was the thing that came through the door.

It looked like regular, augmented human, but there was way, way too much chrome. And the eyes… There was something incredibly wrong with its eyes…

It opened fire. Shark grabbed Jazz and looked around for cover, but there was none in sight. Alpha went down under the barrage, bleeding from several bullet holes. Three more of the things burst through the door. Shark shoved me and Jazz behind him, and opened fire on them. The hellhounds were getting closer.

I tried to attack the things with a manaball spell, but it just bounced off. I gaped. My manaballs weren't the best, but they usually had some effect.

My dad's mentor spirit had been the Firebringer, but I had no mentor. It would have been nice, right about now, to have something to pray to. We needed help.

Help… I looked at my hands. I had the training to summon spirits, but I didn't do it very often. Spirits I summoned tended to act weird. Some hovered over me and fussed like hens with only one chick. Others got tense and angry, deliberately misinterpreting my commands as often as they could. Still others got nosy, trying to find out as much about me as they could. They asked lots of questions, and often seemed unsatisfied with the answers.

A force 12 spirit should be able to turn this fight around. I grimaced. Summoning a force 12 spirit would also likely take me out of the fight, not to mention probably hurt. However, my manaballs didn't affect the things with the weird eyes, and Shark's bullets didn't seem to have much effect either.

It didn't look like the things had much protection against heat. A fire spirit, them. I closed my eyes and began the summoning.

There was a crack as the spirit appeared, and I collapsed to the ground. I had only one service, but, with luck, that would be all I needed. I wet dried lips, and tried to speak.

The spirit, a man made of flame, looked at me. "Yes?"

One of the things threw a concussion grenade. As the shockwave rocked Shark and I, dizziness threatened to overwhelm me. I felt myself begin to lose consciousness. I managed to gasp out, "Help… me…" Then everything went black.

I awoke to the feeling of being watched. I opened my eyes, shrieked, and fell out of bed.

The man who had been staring at me from across the room narrowed his eyes. "What?"

I sat up. "Who… who are you?"

"I'm your fire spirit," the man said, frowning.

I looked out the window at the bright, sunny day. "That's… That's not possible. I only had one service, and I used it. Also, summonings end at sunrise. It's past sunrise. There is no possible way-"

Suddenly, the man was replaced by a familiar fiery shape. "Are you calling me a liar?"

I swallowed. "No. I just don't know why you're still here."

The fiery form collapsed back into a man. "You don't? Really?" He frowned.

"I take it you don't know, either," I surmised.

The spirit shook his head. "It feels like I'm become a free spirit. I've got so much new power, but I can't… I can't seem to leave you alone!" He huffed. "I should be back home, or able to go wherever I want on the astral plane, but I'm stuck with you instead!" His gazed softened, and he stepped toward me, knelt, and brushed my cheek with his hand. "And a part of me is not so certain that's a bad thing." He sighed. "You really have no idea what you've done to me?"

I shook my head. "If it was up to me, you'd be free to go. I don't trap spirits."

The spirit's mouth quirked up at the corner. "Not on purpose, anyways." He sighed. "You should rest. Here, let me help you." He gripped my arm, and helped me back into bed. For a moment, his gaze was gentle. Loving, even. He cupped my cheek with his hand, and brushed my hair away from my face. Then his gaze hardened, and he jerked away. "Your name is Songbird, yes?"

I nodded. "These days." I thought back to the parking lot, where Alpha had used my real name. "What can I call you?" I knew better than to ask for his name. Spirits were very secretive about their true names, and for good reason. A free spirit could be bound with their true name.

"Ember," the spirit told me. "Call me Ember."

Appropriate for a fire spirit. "What happened?" I asked.

"After you summoned Ember," Alpha said, appearing in the doorway, "He held off the hellhounds and the… things while Shark brought me around. Then, I carried you, Shark carried Jazz, Ember opened up a hole, and we ran for it." She scowled. "We never completed the mission." Her gaze softened. "I'm sorry, Song, we should have listened to you when you said something hinky was going on. I should have called off the mission until we figured out what you saw."

"You saved us all," rumbled Shark from behind Alpha. "Thank you."

I frowned. "Is Jazz ok?"

"She'll wake up in another day or so," Shark rumbled. "She took a lot of damage from whatever hit her in the matrix. We won't know what exactly happened until she wakes up."

Jazz was our only hacker, so no one had eyes on her in the matrix. Since she was a technomancer and manipulated the matrix directly, she took damage directly instead of to whatever device she was using. Most hackers used things called cyberdecks, or decks for short. They were called deckers, for obvious reasons. Technomancers like Jazz were rare, and extremely useful since you didn't have to worry about someone shooting their deck.

I looked at Alpha. "Do you have any idea of what those things were?"

It was Ember who answered. "Abominations," he growled. "Prisons for spirits."

I blinked, remembering the things. The look in their eyes. It was someone staring out at me, begging for help.

Alpha frowned. "You didn't tell me that."

Ember looked at her, eyes hard. "I had no reason to tell you."

"You have no reason to tell Song, either," Alpha pointed out.

Ember looked at me. "She's different." He turned back to Alpha, eyes hardening further. "I will tolerate the rest of you, and even help you, because you help her. Do not expect anything more, and do not presume you can tell me what to do."

Alpha looked at him thoughtfully. "Alright, then."

She turned to me. "Why don't you use spirits more often? You could have had half a dozen bound last night, and then we never would have been in danger."

I shook my head. "My father was against the binding of spirits. He said it was cruel."

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "When you signed on, you said you would do your best to help the team. Not summoning spirits when you are a powerful summoner does not look like your best to me."

I blinked. "Ummmm…"

"Just think about it, Song," Alpha told me. "That's all I ask. For now." She stepped forward and patted my arm. "Get some rest. There will be food waiting for you in the kitchen when you wake up. We'll discuss what to do next then."

When I woke up the second time, Ember was still staring at me. I yawned. "Don't you have something better to do?"

Ember shook his head, his expression mulish.

I yawned again. "Fine. Do what you want." I realized I needed to pee. "Just please don't follow me into the bathroom."

Ember nodded, eyes softening. "As you wish."

As I stumped off to the bathroom, I considered the situation. My relationship with spirits had apparently reached new levels of weird. Ember should have no compulsion to stick around, or to listen to me at all. And yet, there he was, watching me from my bedroom door.

The bathroom was empty, which was not a given when four people shared a restroom. I emptied my bladder, and then turned on the shower. Hot water would, hopefully, make me feel human again, instead of like a drowsy, sweaty lump.

I dropped my clothing on the floor. It was the stuff I'd worn on the run, so it was dirty with grime, sweat, and the blood from my nosebleed, a side effect of taking a lot of Drain, or damage from using magic, in one go. Nothing caused Drain like summoning a powerful spirit.

When the water was warm enough, I stepped into the shower. Then I just stood there, letting the hot water pound my weary form. God, that felt good. I could feel it washing away the blood and grime from the failed run, and, with it, all my worries and doubts. They would be back, of course, those worries and doubts, but, for right now, I was free.

I considered what Alpha had said. My father had said binding spirits was cruel, but the spirits Mom bound didn't seem to mind that much. They didn't act like prisoners. More like slightly overworked employees. Even Tenriu, not only bound, but fettered, hadn't seemed too unhappy with his lot. I would never fetter a spirit, binding it to me for life, but the more usual, temporary binding, just once per spirit, shouldn't be too bad. Especially not if I asked the spirit first if it minded. Some of the spirits I summoned seemed to like being around me. Surely one of those wouldn't mind being bound for a bit.

The idea of having 6 spirits bound, all available at a moment's notice if I needed help, was soothing. Ember had really made a difference last night. What would it be like to have so much potential backup? To be able to keep myself and my friends safe, no matter what?

Mother would want me to do my best to keep myself safe, but would Dad have understood? Would he have agreed that keeping the people I cared about safe was worth a bit of compromise? And Handel… What would Handel want me to do?

I wasn't use to considering Handel in such musings. Up until my Mother had died, Handel was just her secretary. He was damned good at his job, but easy to forget. I wasn't even sure if Handel was his first or last name. Often, he was the one who picked me up from my father's home. Sometimes he was the closest I got to my mother during my entire visit to her.

After Dad died, Handel was the one who often showed up at school functions, standing in for my mother, or so I'd thought. Now I wasn't so sure that was his primary motivation.

I let go of my musings, letting the water wash them away with the grime. Humming, I reached for the shampoo, squirted some out, and began to lather my hair. I began to sing. "Un bel dì, vedremo…" I dug my fingers deep into my black locks. I use to have cotton blond hair, but now I kept it dyed, and used a solution that made it curl. I also cut it much shorter. Where before it had cascaded down to my waist in a gorgeous pale golden waterfall, now it tumbled barely to my shoulders in tight black curls.

That wasn't the only thing that was different about me. Now my pale blue eyes were frequently obscured by goggles, and Alpha was discretely working on getting me a supply of brown contacts. My skin was kept tan with a cream. Now, when I looked in the mirror, I saw my father's daughter, a child of the Sioux, albeit one with a white man's curls. It was strange when, for most of my life, I'd looked in the mirror and seen my mother's striking coloration. Strange, but not unpleasant. If I'd realized that looking like a real Amerindian was this simple, I'd have dyed my hair and colored my skin a long time ago.

"Vedi? È venuto! Io non gli…" I stepped back into the falling water and let it rinse the lather from my hair, closing my eyes so a not to get soap in them.

I heard a strange hiss, like water hitting something hot. Then a warm hand touched my cheek. I gasped, going stiff all over, afraid to open my eyes. Then I heard Ember's voice. "Please," he whispered, running his hands through my hair. "Please, keep singing."

As a general rule, naked bodies meant nothing to spirits, and few really understood metahuman nudity taboos. Some didn't realize such taboos existed until they'd upset someone. Ember was not here to oogle me, and would likely not understand if I accused him of doing so.

"Please," Ember begged, his voice so soft I could barely hear it. "Please, I'll do anything you want. Just keep singing."

I opened my eyes. Ember stood before me, fully clothed, and, despite the shower's spray, completely dry. Any water that hit him hissed away into steam. His red hair had been replaced by flickering flames, and his brown eyes were opened wide is awe and desperation.

I took a deep breath. "Mi metto…"

Ember closed his eyes, a look of absolute bliss on his face. I saw his lips form the word "Beautiful."

I continued to sing, all shyness forgotten in the face of such platonic admiration. I had a good voice, and my mother had paid for expensive singing lessons to train me to use it. She had considered it an exercise in discipline and self control, and had been upset, to say the least, when I'd expressed desire to become a professional singer. After that, I'd been forbidden to perform in public. Now she was dead, but my career as a singer was still denied to me. Drawing that much attention to myself wouldn't be safe.

When I finished Madame Butterfly's aria, Ember sighed. "That was beautiful."

I smiled. "Thank you. I've got a good voice. Now, would you mind getting out of the shower so I can finish washing?"

Ember shook his head. "There was more to that than a good voice! You have power."

I looked down, embarrassed by his praise. "It's just good singing, Ember. I mean, it's certainly very pretty, but-"

"It was not just pretty," Ember interrupted me. "It was magic."

I blushed. "Thanks. Please let me finish my shower."

Ember opened his mouth, closed it, sighed in frustration, and left. I finished cleaning myself in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

I entered the kitchen in silence, my body wrapped in a large brown towel. Another towel kept my hair from dripping everywhere. I walked past Alpha, Shark, and the newly awoken Jazz with a nod, and bent over to open the freezer drawer. After selecting a meal, fettuccine with dairy free alfredo, I popped it in the microwave and started it heating. Then I pulled a generic cola from the fridge, popped the tab, and took a long swig. Caffeine and sugar. Just what I needed to boot up my brain.

I turned to the kitchen table where Alpha, Jazz, and Shark were sitting. Jazz was wolfing down something that looked like chicken. Shark was nursing a hot, black coffee, his one vice, and Alpha was busy on her comlink. She had it plugged into her datajack and the screen off, so she could be doing anything from tapping contacts to surfing Jackpoint to beating her high score in Jelly Bear Rumba. Given the situation, I hoped that it was one of the first two, or that she was trying to get in contact with our employer.

Our employer for the job that had gone bad was the mysterious 8-Ball, a fixture in the Dallas runner community. An information broker and fixer, 8-Ball seemed to know everything, but no one knew anything about them. If you needed hard to find info, you went to 8-Ball, provided, of course, you could pay the price.

The mysterious 8-Ball seemed to use most of the proceeds from their business for charity runs. Funneling medical waste to ghouls, taking down certain gangs, that sort of thing. Some of the runs they commissioned were a bit weird, though. Before I joined them, 8-Ball had commissioned the team to clear out and burn down an abandoned factory. They'd paid extra to ensure that, while the plant itself was burned to the ground, no other buildings caught fire.

Because 8-Ball seemed to know everything, most of the shadowrunning community was convinced they'd hacked security cams and surveillance satellites. Alpha said she doubted the answer was that simple.

Jazz looked up from her meal. "Alpha, I've been thinking," she said.

The corner of Alpha's mouth turned up in a amused smile. "Isn't that my job?"

Jazz snorted. "Very funny. Alpha, 8-Ball is usually pretty reliable when it comes to information. I've never known them to miss something as important as… Whatever those things were. Do you think they set us up?"

Alpha shook her head. As she did so, her hair, now unbraided, shortened and darkened, turning into a black crew cut. Her small breasts flattened, her shoulders broadened, and her musculature became more pronounced. Soon she was obviously a he. His eyes shifted to a brown so dark it was almost black, and his skin darkened, too, from latte to milk chocolate. Blue tribal tattoos traced their way across his dark skin, and his ears became more pointed. Soon, where there had been a pretty human woman, there was a rather intense looking, and obviously elven, man of african descent. "No," Alpha said. "Why would 8-Ball do that? We've been reliable. Swift. Reasonably priced. There's no reason for them to betray us."

Jazz shook her head. "I hate it when you do that."

"What? Poke holes in your ideas?" Alpha smiled.

"No. Shift all of a sudden like that," Jazz replied. "You know it creeps me out a bit."

Alpha laughed. "Last time I shifted privately, you almost shot me."

Jazz shrugged. "I didn't recognize you. For all I knew, some strange elf had wandered in off the street."

I hadn't been here long, but I'd already heard this same tired argument play out several times before. I tuned out the friendly griping and peered into the microwave, watching my meal. The microwave beeped. I opened it and poked a finger into the creamy sauce. Too hot. I jerked my finger out and put it in my mouth.

The subject turned back to the mission. "If 8-Ball wasn't setting us up," Jazz said pointedly, "Then why didn't they warn us about the… things?"

Alpha cocked his head thoughtfully. "I don't think they knew. I think the facility was a blind spot on their radar, and they sent us in to correct that. They didn't know it would be as deadly as it was." He unplugged the datajack. "I think they'll pay us for the information we got, even if we didn't plant the bug."

Alpha was correct. When he checked his bank account, he found that the payment has been transferred, with a bit extra. According to the memo on the transfer, the extra payment was for unforeseen dangers, and 8-Ball hoped that the run wouldn't affect their professional relationship with the team.

"You already informed them?" I asked.

Alpha shrugged. "That's what I was doing when you walked in."

"Quick response," Jazz said, eyes narrowed.

Alpha shrugged. "8-Ball is generally on top of things like that." He scrolled through his messages. "Now, we've got a few messages about jobs. One is from a Mr. Johnson we've worked for in the past. He wants us to…" He blinked. "Blow up a warehouse. Ok. That's a new one."

He paged through his emails. "There's job from Stan. You remember? The fixer, has connections in the black market antiquities community. He says he's got a job that would be ideal for our talents."

Shark sighed. "More smuggling?"

Alpha shrugged. "Maybe. Then there's… junk mail… junk mail… ah. Here's another one. It's from a different Mr. Johnson. Apparently he's had problems with a pickpocket."

Jazz snorted. "Call the police."

"I'm betting whatever got stolen is illegal," Alpha said. "You can hack police files, Jazz, see if there's been any other pickpocketing in the area. Fourth job is from the fixer Ginger… It involves killing hellcows. Apparently a meatpacking plant has become infested with them."

"Infestation? How many are we talking about here?" Shark rumbled, sounding dubious. "Those things are hard to kill."

Ember, who was leaning against the kitchen door frame, snorted. "Not a problem. Hellcows burn like everything else." His eyes flared red. "You'd burn too. If I wanted."

Jazz looked at Alpha. "Do we have to keep him around?"

Ember chuckled. "You could try banishing me. I guarantee it would not go well."

Jazz eyed him. "Song would be the one banishing you. You wouldn't attack her."

"I am perfectly capable of knocking her unconscious without doing serious harm," Ember told her. "And I'd just kill anyone else who tried."

Alpha raised a hand. "It's a moot point. He's staying. He's useful, if only because he'll protect Song."

I made a face. "And I kind of suck at banishing, so…" I shrugged.

Ember smiled at me wickedly. "Good."

Alpha scanned the list of jobs. "Hellcows first, I think. Tom says it's pretty urgent, and if we don't contact him today he'll hire a different team. The others are giving us a few days to decide if we want to take the job."

Shark frowned. "You sure we can handle the hellcows?"

Alpha shrugged. "Hellcows don't tend to hang out together. We can take them out one by one, and we can always spread the fights out over several days if we can't take them all in one run." She looked from me to Shark to Jazz. "Any objections?"

Shark grunted. "Sounds good to me, Alpha. If you think we can do it."

I nodded my agreement. Jazz shrugged.

Ember frowned. "Do I get a say in this?"

Alpha shrugged. "Technically, you're not part of the team, but, if you don't like it, I will take that into account."

Ember looked thoughtful. "Money is a necessity for material beings, yes?"

Jazz snorted. "Only if you want to eat, and stay someplace with a roof. So yeah."

Ember looked thoughtful. "This shouldn't put Songbird in undue danger. I give my approval."

"I'm so glad," Jazz said dryly. "Whatever would we do if you didn't approve?"

Ember's eyes narrowed. "I'd kill you right now if you weren't Song's friend."

"I wouldn't call her a friend," Jazz told him. "More a necessary irritation."

Flame gathered around Ember's hands. "Then maybe I should-"

I stepped between him and Jazz. "Please don't!"

Ember lowered his hands. "As you wish."

"While we're on the subject, I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill anyone unless I ask you to," I told Ember. "Or set stuff on fire."

Ember stretched, and leaned back against the door frame. "As you wish." His eyes glittered. "But don't think you can dictate everything that I do."

I took a step back, nodding nervously. "I understand."

"Jazz, you should sit this one out," Alpha said, picking up her commlink. "Last time I checked, hellcows don't use the matrix."

Jazz glared at her. "I can shoot shit too, you know."

"Not very well," Shark rumbled. "And you aren't that good at defense." He gave her puppy dog eyes, which he was surprisingly good at for a huge troll. "I don't like it when you get hurt."

Jazz sighed. "Ok. For you, Shark."

"Be available on commlink. Just in case," said Alpha.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you might need me to unlock a door, or something."

Alpha sighed. "Jazz, please-"

Jazz raised a hand. "I'll be online if you need me."

Alpha nodded. "Thanks. I'll tell Tom we're taking the run."

Nightfall. The sky glowed orange as city lights reflected off the smog, and a distant siren pierced the sounds of late night traffic. My room was as dark as my ancient blinds could get it, which wasn't very dark at all. I was use to Dallas's bright, noisy nights, though, so the environment wasn't what kept me from sleeping. It was Ember. The spirit had taken his normal, fiery form and was hovering in the air above the foot of the bed, stretched out lengthwise as if reclining, and staring down at me.

I considered asking him to slip into astral space, but the idea of him staring at me invisibly was just as creepy as his current position. I could tell him to go away, but he had no reason to listen to me and an apparent desire to keep me in view.

I sat up, sighing. "You said you can't leave me alone. What's that like? Is it like a leash? A binding? Maybe if we can figure out what's keeping you here, you can leave.

Ember frowned. "It's not really either. I left not long after sunrise, and I didn't plan to come back. I got pretty far away, too, but, the entire time, I couldn't… I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Thinking about me?" I asked. "What sort of thoughts?"

Ember sighed. "I was mostly wondering about what was happening to you. If you had woken up yet. How your injuries were healing. If you were safe…"

I frowned. "Sounds like some kind of compulsion. Or… Like you have some sort of crush on me." I shook my head. "But spirits don't get crushes."

Ember drifted to the floor and went dark.

I stared blindly into the sudden dimness. "Ember…?"

After a moment, my eyes adjusted and I could make out Ember's human form. Another moment, and he began to speak. "It's not what humans call a crush. Not really. It's…" Ember shook his head. "You have so much potential. So much, almost all of it unrealized. I saw that, when you summoned me. And then… And then you were dying. All that bright, beautiful potential, and it was fading as I watched. Guttering like a candle in a high wind."

He sighed. "Seeing that… It left a mark on me, I guess. Not like a human crush, but just as strong, and just as irrational." He shook his head again, looking away. "I didn't realize it until now, but that's why I need to be near you. To protect you." Ember smiled wryly. "So, the compulsion, or whatever you want to call it, it's not anything you did. It's who you are, who I am, and what happened between us. And there's no changing that."

Ember sat on the edge of the bed. "Get some sleep, Songbird. You need it."

I yawned. "Can you not stare at me? It's kind of creepy."

Ember looked away. "Of course."

After that, I drifted off to sleep fairly quickly. If Ember watched me as I slept, I did not know.

I sighed as I renewed the glyphs covering the walls of my magical lodge, aka my closet. It was time to bind my first spirit. I looked over my shoulder at Alpha. "Do we really need more spirits? Isn't Ember enough?"

It was Ember who answered. "I am more than enough. However, Song, now that I'm here, I'd like to enjoy the material plane a bit." He sighed. "Unfortunately, if I leave you to your own devices, you're likely to get yourself killed. You need another spirit, one who is, at the very least, capable of fetching me should the need arise."

I adjusted the hang of the deer pelt on the wall. "Any opinions on what sort of spirit I should bind?"

Ember said, "Fire," at the same time Alpha said, "Beast." The two looked at each other, annoyed.

"Beast spirits can control animals," Alpha told me. "That might be useful with the hellcows."

Ember shrugged. "He has a point."

Jazz peered in at us through the doorway of my room. "Or she could summon a task spirit. Get this dump cleaned up."

Alpha sighed. "Pretty sure task spirits aren't part of Song's tradition, Jazz."

I blinked. "What do you mean they aren't part of my tradition?"

Alpha frowned. "Mages can only summon the 5 spirits associated with their tradition. You're Sioux, right? That means your spirits are beast, plant, fire, air, and guardian."

I shook my head. "My dad was Sioux, but he and my mother taught me as a basic shaman. Neither one wanted me raised in the other's tradition, so…" I shrugged. "Shaman was the only tradition they both found acceptable."

Alpha frowned. "Pretty sure fire spirits aren't a shaman thing."

I shrugged. "I've definitely summoned more than 5 types of spirit. Maybe you're remembering your magic stuff wrong?"

From the doorway, Jazz said, "She's right, Song." There was an odd look in her eyes, something almost like respect. "Most mages are limited to 5 types of spirit. Shamans are beast, water, earth, air, and man. I just looked it up on the matrix."

Ember snorted. "Song can summon anything she wants. She's special."

Alpha laughed nervously. "I guess so." He shrugged. "Could be useful. Now, Song, do you want privacy while you do this, or should I hang around in case you need backup?"

I shrugged. "Either works. Remember, though, the binding will take a few hours." I closed my eyes and began the summoning.

A form began to take shape in the center of my magical lodge. In a few seconds, a large animal was standing in the center of my closet.

It looked a bit like a cross between a bear and a crocodile. It stood on its huge, clawed hind legs, and it was covered all over in brown fur. Its tail was croc-like in that it was almost as thick at its base as the body it was attacked to, but it was as furry as the rest of the animal. Black, crocodile- like ridges traced its spine, continuing down the tail to its thin tip. It had the ears and eyes of a bear, but a croc's toothy snout. Oddly enough its front paws were almost like hands, if you ignored the razor sharp claws, the thick coating of fur on the back, and the heavily calloused skin as black as pitch.

The creature yawned, and sank down to all fours. Where before it had towered over me, now its head reached no higher than my chest. "Hello, mage," it mumbled through a menacing mouth full of teeth. "What can I do for you to-" Suddenly, its voice cut off. It blinked at me. "Wow. You're…" The spirit rose again on its hind legs. "So pretty…" It leaned closer to me, deadly mouth agape.

I tried not to freak out. No matter how scary this spirit looked, it was currently on my side. Right up until I used up my last service, and then all bets were off. I swallowed.

I heard a low rumble from the spirit. At first I thought it was growling. Then I realized it was purring, like a cat. A giant, scary cat.

The spirit dropped to all fours again and circled me, alternately peering at me with its big, brown eyes and rubbing its side against me, again like a giant, scary cat. When it touched me, I could feel its rumbling purr deep in my chest.

Suddenly the spirit withdrew. "You're frightened. What's wrong?" I could feel it examining my aura.

Ember chuckled. "I think you're scaring her."

The spirit drooped. "Oh." It looked up at me plaintively. "Sorry."

Over in the corner, Alpha struggled not to laugh.

"I wouldn't hurt you," the spirit told me, brown eyes wide. "And not just because you're my summoner. I like you. Your aura is…" The spirit shivered. "It's nice."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Ember said. He stretched, and then leaned against the wall. "I'm Ember," he told the new spirit. "That," he said, nodding to me, "Is Songbird, or Song for short."

The spirit nodded. "That's appropriate. Song… Your aura is so beautiful. It's almost like music…"

I shrugged, suddenly self conscious. "I chose the street name because I like to sing. Not because of what my aura looks like."

Alpha shrugged. "No offense, Song, but I've never thought your aura was anything special."

Ember glared at her. The new spirit sniffed. "Well, I think it's special."

"Do you have a name," Jazz asked, rolling her eyes, "Or do I have to keep thinking of you as the bear-croc thing?"

"Call me Paw." Paw looked her up and down, unimpressed.

"Prefered pronoun?" Alpha asked.

Paw blinked. "Pronoun…?"

Alpha sighed. "Are you a guy spirit or a girl spirit?"

Paw frowned. "Not really."

Alpha cocked his head. "So your preferred pronoun is they?"

Paw wrinkled its nose. "Of course not. That makes it sound like I'm a whole pack of something. I'm just me." It frowned thoughtfully. "'It' works."

Alpha stared a Paw incredulously. "It? Your preferred pronoun is it?"

Paw shrugged, looking self conscious. "I don't really care that much. Language… It's not terribly important, really. Saying 'it' gets the point across better than anything else I've heard." It sniffed. "Getting hung up on gender is so… meatperson. In the worst possible way." Paw flinched. "I mean no disrespect to you, Miss Song."

I blushed. "It's just Song. Ummm… I kind of summoned you so I could bind you. Is that ok?"

Paw smiled a toothy grin, and then looked down shyly. "I was hoping you would."

The binding took six hours. Paw seemed… Somehow more relaxed afterwards. Eyes half lidded, it rubbed against me. "What next?"

I yawned. "Now I take a rest, to heal some of this drain." Alpha and Jazz had wandered off a long time ago, so it was just me, Ember, and Paw. I sat down on my bed, and pulled out my commlink. "Either of you know how to play backgammon?"

After a few games of backgammon, and zonking out to an episode of 'Gardening with Plant Spirits,' I felt much better. I messaged Alpha on my commlink, and the team got together in the kitchen. It was… A bit crowded. Even with Ember lounging in the doorway.

Alpha sighed. "Paw, you mind slipping into the astral?"

After a quick glance at me for confirmation, Paw vanished. Its musky smell still hovered over the room.

"Ok, here's the game plan. Ember and Song go into astral-"

"While who is watching Song's body?" demanded Ember.

Alpha sighed. "While Shark and I are watching her."

Ember's eyes narrowed. "And you'll be watching her? You won't wander off?"

Alpha sighed. "Read my aura. I care about Song. So does Shark."

"It's not just that," Jazz put in. "As long as Song is alive, the team has Super-Platinum Docwagon contracts. A gift from her departed mum. They didn't activate last night because we were on corp property, but if we're anywhere else and one of us goes down, we'll have armed medics there to help within 10 minutes." She shrugged. "It's a powerful incentive to keep Song alive. Not to mention, we won't be on corp property while Song is scoping out the place. Her body will be fine." Jazz smiled crookedly. "The question is, do we trust you to protect her on the astral?"

Ember's eyes narrowed. "I can protect her just fine."

Alpha sighed. "I'm sure Song will be fine in both the physical and astral planes. Now, the game plan involves Song and Ember locating the hellcows on the astral. Hellcows don't tend to move when there is food in reach, and they consider everything food, so odds are they'll stay put while we pick them off one by one. I'll engage the hellcow in melee while Shark and Song shoot it. Song, I want you to keep your magic in reserve unless someone needs healing. Ember, I'd appreciate it if you would help, too. If we get into trouble, Song can call on Paw to distract the hellcow while we retreat. Scan?"

Everyone nodded.

Alpha nodded decisively. "Good." She looked around at the five of us. Six, if you counted Paw. "Anyone got any ideas on how we'll all fit in the van?"


	3. Chapter 3

My astral form drifted through the meatpacking plant, Ember close at my heels and Paw trailing behind him. As we left the holding pens and entered the actual meatpacking section, I wrinkled my nose. "So much death."

Ember nodded. "The aura is quite disgusting. Let's find the hellcows and get out."

Three had been in the holding pens, surrounded by the remains of their fellow cows. None were in the slaughter area. Maybe they found the aura of death just as disgusting as I did, I thought. Unlikely. Hellcows didn't astrally perceive.

One was in the sausage section, chowing down on the conveyor belt. The aura of hungry hellcows, I noted, was different from their aura when full. Maybe we could use that?

The final two hellcows were munching on the crates of meat in the storage section of the warehouse. They were together, I noted, and would need to be faced together. Not good. Perhaps we could wait to face those two. Eventually, they'd probably fight, and one would eat the other.

I remembered what Jazz had told me earlier. "The horrible hellcow problem is probably because their supplier has been feeding waste from the plant to his cows. That's illegal, by the way, which is probably why they brought us in to deal with the results. Hellcow disease is a prion disease, like mad cow disease, and it's passed around by cows eating cow parts. The big difference is that it affects the infected cow's offspring. The gestation period is shortened, and, well…" She'd trailed off. "One day a female cow looks fine. The next day the baby hellcow bursts out of its womb and eats it alive."

Back in the present, I winced.

Ember looked at me. "Are you alright?"

I shivered. "Just thinking about… Well, hellcows. They're pretty nasty." And so are some people. Forcing ordinary cows into cannibalism… I shivered again. "I guess that's a runner's life. Dealing with the nasty drek."

Ember looked at me. His aura was unreadable. "You deserve better than this."

I sighed. "I haven't exactly got other options."

Ember cocked his head. "Why not?"

I sighed again. "It's a long story."

Paw perked up. "I like stories!"

I couldn't help smiling. "Later. Right now, I've got to get back to my body."

Getting back to the rendezvous point took seconds, but when I got there, I found that my team was not alone. They had been surrounded by members of a go-gang. Bikes rumbling and belching nasty smoke, they circled the van.

Alpha seemed to be trying to talk them down. I slipped into my body. It was possible I could help.

Back on the material plane, I listened to Alpha speak. "Trust me, chummer, we're more trouble than we're worth."

As I sat up and peered out the window, I heard the group leader snort. "There's three of you, and nine of us. You're outnumbered. Give us the van, and you live. Fight, and…"

Several members of the group laughed. One shot a gun into the air. "Face it, you're fragged, keeb."

Alpha smiled. "I wouldn't count on that. Our razorguy is seriously wired, and I'm not just a pretty face." He spread his hands. "The kind of fight you're going to get into, it'll get messy." He looked around, smiled widening. "Maybe we'll win. Maybe we won't. However, I guarantee some of you lot are going to die." He cocked his head. "Is this van really worth dying for?"

Out of sight of the gang members, he signaled Shark. Shark nodded, and opened the back door of the van. Baring teeth in a hostile grin, he stepped of the van.

One of the gang members jerked back. "It's a fraggin' trog!"

Ember materialized, His form was human, but he was covered in flames. He laughed. A few more go-gangers drew back, but the gang as a whole was still circling.

The gang leader swallowed, looking nervous before regaining his former bravado. "Still nine to four, dandelion eater. Give up now."

Still in the van, I murmured a spell. Fear was an easy emotion to enhance.

Hand on his gun, the leader snarled. "It's a drek van, anyways. Not worth getting your blood on our clothes."

Ember laughed. "Coward."

Alpha gave him a sharp look. "You're right. It is a drek van. Not worth your time."

Ember locked eyes with the leader. "You don't have the balls to mess with us, meathead. So just run along with your little friends back to your mother and cry."

Enraged, the leader raised his gun. "Get them!"

Roaring, the gang charged.

Alpha didn't bother opening the door. He just threw himself out the open window, rolled once, and was on his feet, combat knife in hand. Shark stepped away from the van and opened fire on the go-gangers. One of them fell off his bike and hit the asphalt, bleeding from several holes. With his other hand, Shark shoved his katana into a motorcycle wheel. The cycle flipped, sending the unfortunate go-ganger flying. She landed on her face and didn't move, blood spreading in a puddle around her head.

Alpha was on the leader in a flash. He stabbed him in the throat with the combat knife and shoved him off the bike. Taking control of the motorcycle, he wheeled to face the remaining six go-gangers.

I dipped into my pocket, grabbed some reagents, and cast a quick spell to enhance my reflexes. Reagents drained, I dropped them, and shuddered as I resisted the drain from the spell. Then I cast a manaball at one of the go-gangers. Force 6, the most powerful I could cast without risking physical drain. It took him down.

Abruptly, I realized I should have taken physical drain when I summoned Ember. How… No time to worry about that now. Dizzy with drain from my first two spells, I grabbed another handful of reagents.

Ember, I noted, had set two go-gangers on fire. One had obviously been blasted. He was desperately trying to put out himself and his bike. The other appeared to have gotten too close to Ember while attacking him with a crowbar. The crowbar was lying, half melted, on the asphalt, and the go-ganger herself was a charred mess, still alive but only just. A shot from Shark finished her off.

With only 4 of their number left, all injured, the go-gangers fled. Alpha sighed, and dismounted from the motorbike. He turned to the leader of the gang, who was gurgling his last on the sidewalk. "I told you you couldn't take us," he sighed. "You didn't listen..."

Half an hour later, we'd piled the bodies in a dumpster. With any luck, it would be awhile before someone found them. I stared at the dumpster silently. While I'd seen people die before, this was the first time I'd been a part of it.

I jerked around in surprise as Alpha rounded on Ember, combat knife in hand. "What the hell, Ember?"

Ember looked startled. "What?"

Alpha sighed. "I had it handled. I convinced them the van wasn't worth dying for, so they were going to walk away. Then you insulted them." He sighed. "To go-gangers, reputation is everything. Reputation, and pride. Their leader couldn't let that insult go unpunished, not if he wanted to stay leader."

Alpha thrust his finger into Ember's no longer flaming chest. Had Alpha grown taller? Or had Ember gotten shorter? Either way, Alpha towered over the spirit, glowering menacingly. "Next time, I do the talking. You say nothing. Scan?"

Ember glared. "Are you threatening me?"

Alpha's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I may not be able to banish you, but I can disrupt you. I don't know if you can return after that or not, but, either way, it'll hurt like hell."

Ember grew taller. "I'm not sure you know what you're dealing with, meatperson."

Alpha growled. "I know perfectly well what I'm dealing with, and I could take you. If it wanted." Abruptly the anger left him, and he cocked his head thoughtfully. "Also, the more we stay out of combat, the less likely it is that Song will get hurt. I can talk my way out of a fight. You can't."

Ember nodded slowly. "You have a point." He looked at me. "I'm sorry I nearly got you shot, Songbird."

I shrugged. "It's ok. Just, in the future, try to remember that there's a reason we let Alpha do the talking."

Ember bowed his head solemnly. "For you, I will try to remember."

Alpha nodded decisively. "Good. Now, I think we're not too badly hurt to take down a hellcow or two. Does everyone agree?"

Shark grunted. "I got shot, but I used the medkit, and it's not that bad. Ember? Song?"

Ember chuckled. "Nothing that lot was carrying was capable of hurting me."

I yawned. "I'd rather rest for an hour before throwing any more spells around. Is that ok?"

Alpha nodded. "Of course, Song." His gaze softened. "I should have realized you'd taken some drain. Sorry."

I sniggered. "It's not as obvious when I don't get a nosebleed."

Then I remembered. "Ember, when I summoned you, I should have taken physical drain. It should have almost killed me. Or, you know, maybe not just almost. Do you have any idea why it didn't?"

Ember frowned. "No."

Alpha looked thoughtful. "This could be useful. If summoning powerful spirits is less dangerous for you than for most people…" He trailed off speculatively.

I snorted. "I only managed to get one service when I summoned Ember."

Alpha shrugged. "If we're ever in that kind of a bind again, one service could make a big difference."

Ember's eyes narrowed. "I'd prefer it if Song was never in that much danger again."

Shark snorted. "She's a runner. Danger is part of the job."

Ember growled. "Not if I can help it."

Alpha stepped between them. "Ember, we try to minimize risks, but sometimes the drek hits the fan, and there's nothing we can do about it. The run you came in on, that was some really unexpected drek on what was suppose to be a milk run."

"No such thing as a milk run," rumbled Shark.

Alpha snorted. "You're probably right." He turned to me. "Get some rest, Song. You've got an hour, and then we're going in."

One hour and an episode of "Amish Runners" later, I was ready to go.

Alpha snorted as I removed the episode from my commlink. "I don't know how you can watch that drek. You do realize 'reality trideo' is a misnomer, right? That drek is just as scripted as regular trideo. It's just scripted badly."

I sniggered. "Of course. But the more mindless and inane a show is, the more I zonk out, and the more I zonk out, the faster I heal." I shrugged. "Weird, I know, but true."

Alpha chuckled. "Well, if you're done zonking out, we have a job to do."

Alpha had changed while I was resting, and was now a human female again, this time rather ridiculously well endowed with bimbo blond hair. I looked her over. "What's with the double ds?"

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "They make me feel pretty. Problem?"

I took a step back. "No, not at all! I was just… I mean, if they get in your way…"

Sharks rumbling chuckle was as much felt as heard. "I've seen her kick ass with bigger tits than that, and in high heels, too." He stepped out of the van, making the suspension creak. "Now that was quite the run. Remind me to tell you the story sometime."

Alpha snorted. "You are not telling her that one."

Shark rumbled again. "Why? It was quite impressive, especially when you put your heel right through his-"

Alpha cut him off. "Time to go. I'll take point. Ember and Song can be in the middle, and Shark, you can guard the rear." She turned and stalked toward the meatpacking plant, her own rather large rear swaying with the motion of her hips.

We entered the meatpacking plant, guns at the ready. The first hellcow was in a cow holding pen. It ignored us as we lined up shots. Then, at Alpha's signal, we opened fire.

Now full of holes, the hellcow charged. "MOOOO!"

Shark moved to block it. Grabbing it by the head, he threw it to the ground, but not before it took a chunk out of his arm. Worried that I'd hit Shark, I held my fire. Alpha, who was a much better shot, buried another three rounds in the unfortunate cow, and Ember scorched it with his fire.

Shark's katana came down, almost slicing it in half. With a final angry below, the hellcow died. Another hellcow, attracted to the commotion, came charging out of another holding pen. I dove aside as it came right at me. Ember moved between me and the hellcow. With a blast of flame, he set it alight. The hellcow bellowed in pain and rage.

Now, with the flames wreathing it, fangs bared, and eyes flashing with rage, it really did look like something from the pit. Ember wouldn't let anything happen to me, I reminded myself, and fired. I hit it right between the eyes. The hellcow crumpled to the ground just as Shark opened fire. Burning and full of lead, the hellcow died.

Breathing heavily, Alpha looked around. "Everyone ok? No serious injuries?"

Shark, now doctoring the bite on his arm, shook his head. "I'm good."

Alpha turned to me. "Song? Did the hellcow get you when it came in from behind?"

I shook my head. "I got out of the way in time. I'm fine."

Alpha nodded. "Artic. Let's keep going."

Shark looked at the partially charred hellcows speculatively. "I wonder what hellcow tastes like."

Alpha shook her head. "We'd never get all the shrapnel out."

Shark frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe if we didn't pump the next one full of lead-"

Alpha snorted. "That would make it much, much harder to kill. Weren't you the one talking about how dangerous hellcows are?"

Shark snorted. "Point."

Our next fight was uneventful. The placid, well fed hellcow looked at us dumbly as we lined up our shots. When we opened fire, it died before it could retaliate.

Alpha nodded. "So far so good."

We had to go through the slaughter section to get to the next hellcow. The doors were locked, but, instead of contacting Jazz, Shark broke them down.

The slaughter room was eerily silent when we entered. Silent, and dark. Our footsteps echoed through the chamber as we walked, and the smell of old blood made me gag.

Alpha froze, gesturing for us to stop. "Something isn't right."

Ember rolled his eyes. "The room is empty. What could possibly-"

The machinery roared to life. I shrieked as mechanical arms lifted me onto the conveyor belt. Clamps made to hold cow feet clamped around my legs. Behind me, Shark was getting the same treatment. Alpha managed to dodge the arms. She whipped out her combat knife, but it just clanged off the hardened steel.

Ember looked at her. "What do we do!? I can't- If I attack the machine I'll burn Song!"

Alpha grunted as she bent over backwards, dodging the arms. "Shark! Call Jazz!"

I screamed as a blade, made to cut cows cleanly in half, whirred to life in front of me. Ember grabbed the conveyor belt, trying desperately to hold it still. Groaning, it slowed, but I was still headed for the whirring saw. I drew my gun and opened fire on the blade. I winced as the shot ricocheted.

"Song, stop that! It won't do any good!" Alpha yelled, still dodging. "Shark!"

"I've got her!" Shark bellowed. "She's on it!" He cocked his head, listening. "She says it's a xenosapient AI!"

"I don't care what it is!" Alpha screamed. "Tell her to stop it before it kills Song!"

Ember grunted as the conveyor belt moved forward another inch.

That was when the loudspeakers crackled to life. "Guys, it's Jazz! I've hacked into the plant!"

Alpha gasped as an arm missed her by inches. "Shut this down! Now!"

"I can't!" Jazz wailed through the loudspeakers. "The xenosapient-"

Alpha cut her off. "Then think of something else! You're good with machines! How do we shut this shit down manually?"

Silence. Then the loudspeaker spoke again. "Ember. I need you to listen to me very carefully. You need to let go of the conveyor belt."

Ember grunted as the belt came to a full stop. "NO!"

"It's ok! I've got it! For now." Jazz sounded shakey. "Let go, and listen to me very carefully."

Ember growled. "Talk fast!"

"Do you see the box next to the conveyor belt? The one with the computer screen?" Jazz asked.

Ember looked around. "Yes!"

"Melt it! Now!" Jazz ordered.

Ember growled, and released the conveyor belt. True to her word, Jazz was keeping it still. Mostly. I screamed as it jerked forward another inch.

Ember was working fast, enveloping the box in flame. The screen was blackened, and the case began to melt. I saw bits of smoking circuit boards and computer chips through the melted gaps in the case.

The conveyor belt jerked forward another inch. I leaned away, as best I could, and felt the blade slicing through my jeans. I fought back a scream. Distracting Ember would not help.

There was a burst of static from the loud speakers, and the blade stopped. The clamps on my legs snapped open, and, still leaning away from the blade, I toppled over backwards.

Shark caught me. He was crying. "Oh, Song… Are you ok?"

I looked down at the thin slice in my jeans. No blood. "I'm good. It… It just got my pants."

Alpha, panting, knelt on the floor. She laughed shakily. "Well, that was a workout."

Ember continued to melt the box, snarling.

The loudspeakers crackled to life again. "Ember. It's over. You can stop now. You forced the xenosapient from its home, and I killed it." And electronic sigh. "It's over."

Ember stopped, but flames still crackled around him. He shuddered, and then visibly calmed. The flames went away. He turned to Alpha. "Was that what you meant? About drek hitting the fan?"

Alpha, still shaking, nodded. "Yeah. It seems like there's always something, something we don't know, or didn't account for." She shivered. "This was… Worse than most."

Shark, still holding me, stepped down from the belt. "I don't know about that," he rumbled. "No one actually got hurt. Remember that run last December?"

I shivered. "You're not the one who nearly got sliced in half."

Shark shrugged. "Point. But last December, I nearly died when the run went south. It took me weeks of rest to recover, and I had to get my cyberarm replaced. Remind me to tell you the story some day."

Alpha visibly pulled herself together. "I think that's enough for today. I need to contact our client, tell them what we did to their computer and why. And then, I, at least, need a drink."

Shark grunted. "We going to the Legless Worm?"

Alpha nodded. "The Legless Worm."

The Legless Worm was a runner bar. I'd been there once before, when I'd first met the team. That had been purely business, and Handel had been with me. This was different.

Jazz was on the dance floor, bopping to the music. Shark was watching her fondly, drink in hand, as he chatted with a few other trolls. Alpha was with me, and we'd been joined by a couple of other runners.

"And then I said, what do you mean? I thought she was an elf!" a human runner concluded. He'd introduced himself as Sam, but everyone at the table called him Lucky.

The rest of the table laughed. Alpha was still in her well endowed female form, and was flirting with an elf named Tiger, who was also an adept. Her ability to change her form was no secret in the runner community.

"Yeah, elf posers are a pain in the ass," Tiger said. He turned to Alpha, who had opened her mouth. "You don't count, love. For all I know you are an elf!"

The table laughed again. "Yeah, Alpha," chimed in a gnome. Her name was Cheeri, and she was a rigger. "What is your metatype, anyways? And what do you really look like?"

Alpha grinned mischievously. "I'll never tell." She took another swig of her drink.

"My money is on elf," Tiger said, putting his arm around Alpha.

"Dwarf," chimed Cheeri. "She's really a dwarf."

"Maybe she's secretly an orc," Lucky/Sam chortled. "Or a troll!"

Alpha snorted. "You know I can't even take orc or troll forms."

Lucky raised an eyebrow. "Can't you? We've only got your word for that."

Alpha snorted again. "It's a question of mass, stupid. There's not enough of me to make an orc or a troll."

"Mass, smass," Lucky laughed. "Nothing a bit of magic can't fix!"

Cheeri elbowed me. "What do you think, Song? What is Alpha's metatype?"

I blinked, surprised to be so suddenly addressed. "How should I know?"

Lucky looked at me mischievously. "You're on her team. You'd have a better idea than any of us."

I looked at Alpha, and thought about how charismatic she was. That was an elf thing. On the other hand, she seemed to prefer human forms most of the time. She almost never went dwarf, and I was pretty sure she didn't have thermographic vision. That meant dwarf was likely out. "She's not a dwarf," I offered.

Cheeri grinned. "You sure?"

"Of course she's not sure," Alpha put in. "I'm a woman of mystery." She shrugged. "Or sometimes a man of mystery. Whatever."

Everyone laughed. "So, what's your story, Songbird?" Lucky asked. "How did you end up running in the shadows?"

Alpha leaned into Tiger's embrace and laughed. "She pissed off the wrong people. Just like you, Lucky. What did that wageslave call you, again? Right before he hit the alarm?"

Lucky laughed, and launched into the story of the fiasco that had landed him in the gutter. "I should have died," he concluded. He winked. "But I didn't. And I decided that, since I was officially a dead man, I might as well use the fact. So I started a whole new career, and it's been great." He grinned. "Next round is on me!"

The table cheered. No one seemed to have noticed Alpha's adroit topic change.

Not long after that, the bar's owner booted up the karaoke machine. Jazz was the first on stage. She sang badly, as usual, but no one seemed to care. Then Lucky egged Tiger into singing a duet with him. When Lucky made his choice on the screen, grinning wickedly, Tiger nearly walked off the stage.

It was a love duet. Lucky sang the girl's part, and Tiger, a surprisingly deep baritone, sang the guy's. It wasn't that bad, I thought, grinning. The two came back to their seats. "Next time we do that," Tiger growled. "At least choose something gay. I felt so stupid calling you my cherry blossom."

Lucky laughed. "So, Songbird, are you actually a good singer?"

I blushed. "I'm not bad."

Lucky thrust his finger into my chest. "Prove it!"

I winced. "I don't think I-"

Alpha pulled me to my feet. "She's amazing, guys. You've got to hear!"

Urged onto the stage, I stood before the karaoke machine. "Umm…" I stared, bewildered, at my huge number of choices.

Alpha slid briefly onto the stage. "Try this one." She picked a song for me. Fortunately, it was one I knew.

The music started. I took a deep breath, and sang.

The bar went silent.

I fought not to let my voice wobble. Everyone was staring at me. Lucky and Tiger looked poleaxed. Shark was smiling from ear to ear, eyes closed. Cheeri looked awed. Alpha grinned smugly. Even Jazz was enjoying the music, nodding along and smiling wryly.

And everyone else… Up until now, I hadn't realized how full the bar was. And it got fuller, I noted, as several spirits materialized, including Paw and Ember. I gripped the mic with white knuckles. I could feel my knees shaking. But I never missed a single note.

Suddenly, a robed form materialize in mid air. It reached out with a skeletal hand, and a female voice murmured. "So beautiful…"

Someone pointed at it. "That's a shadow spirit!" Someone else screamed. Another drew a gun and aimed it at the spirit, who abruptly vanished back into the astral. My song trailed off, as, shocked, I stared at where the thing had been. What the frag?


	4. Chapter 4

I stared in shocked horror at where the shadow spirit had been. More that a few people went limp as they chased it in the astral, and I saw Alpha's eyes glow, which, I remembered, meant she was astrally perceiving. I remembered that I could do the same thing. Blinking, I peered into the astral.

The bar was an emotional maelstrom of shock and panic, with more than a little bit of rage mixed in. Lucky, I remembered, had lost his girlfriend to a shadow spirit. He'd left town on a job and come back to find a skeletal husk, so obsessed with her painting that she'd forgotten to eat and sleep.

She'd died in the hospital a few days later. That had been a muse spirit. There were other types. Nastier ones. As I looked around for the shadow spirit, I wondered what type this one was.

Whatever it was, it was gone now, at least to my eyes. I blinked, and my spirit settled back into my body, allowing me to see the mundane, material world again.

Shakily, I left the stage. Ember took me by the arm and led me back to my seat. The other spirits appeared to have dematerialized, including Paw. I wondered how many were still hanging out in the astral. Probably most of them. The only spirits with a reason to be in this bar were ones bound by the mages currently hanging out here, and bound spirits liked to stay with their summoners.

I looked at Alpha, whose eyes were no longer glowing. "See anything?" I asked.

She shook her head. "It must have left immediately after it dematerialized." She frowned. "I wonder why it decided to materialize here. Shadow spirits normally go after weak, undefended targets, not bars full of armed runners."

Ember shifted uncomfortably. "It, umm, may not have had a choice. I know I wasn't intending to materialize. But so little of the song filters into the astral. I just had to hear better…" He shivered. "So beautiful…"

I looked at the rapt expression on his face and swallowed. "I really didn't intend…" I trailed off, shrugging helplessly. The way Ember was looking at me gave me an odd sense of power, and I didn't like it.

As more and more mages returned to their bodies, Alpha stood. "This is not the place to talk about this." Gesturing for Jazz and Shark to follow, she hustled me out of the room.

Tiger fell in behind her. "Alpha, we need to talk about what just happened."

Alpha didn't stop. "This is team business, which means that it is none of yours."

Tiger darted around to block her. "This doesn't just involve your team. It's-"

He froze as Alpha's combat knife poked him in the gut. Alpha's voice was low. "Tiger, I like you, I really do. But if you don't get out of my way, I will gut you like a fish. Scan?"

Swallowing, he nodded, and stepped aside. The four of us, Ember having vanished into the astral, piled into the van. Before I could even buckle my seatbelt, Alpha roared out of the parking lot.

Eyes on the road, she asked me, "Song, did you know you could force spirits to materialize?"

Ember materialized on the floor of the van. "I wouldn't say force. Coax or seduce, yes. Maybe even compel. But not force."

Alpha snarled as she wove in and out of traffic. "Whatever you call it, you just caused every spirit in the bar to materialize. Did you know you could do that?"

I shook my head. "No. I had no idea."

"I did tell you that your singing was magical," Ember reminded me.

I shrugged helplessly. "I thought you were overreacting!"

Alpha growled. "Song, you should have realized he was serious. Ember, you should have come to me with these suspicions. What happened just now, that drew attention to the entire team, and we can't afford to draw attention!"

I nodded. "Because of my… Family situation."

"It's not just about you!" Jazz snapped. "I'm a technomancer. Because of that, I have a corp bounty on me. A bounty I'm sure a lot of people would love to collect. And then I'd end up in some fragging corp lab, and I really don't want to go through that again!"

I looked at her, startled. "Again?"

"We all had lives before Handel hired us to guard you," Alpha snapped. "And some aspects of those lives make attention dangerous." Stopping at a light, Alpha turned to look at me. "Song, I consider you a part of the team. However, if you routinely put the rest of the team in danger, that could change."

"Calm down," Shark rumbled. "Alpha, she's just a kid."

"She can't be a kid," snapped Alpha. "Not anymore. Shark, you know as well as I do that kid runners die young."

"This kid runner recently saved all our lives," rumbled Shark. "Or had you forgotten?"

Alpha visibly calmed. "Right. Of course." She looked at me. "I'm sorry, Song. I was… startled by what happened in there." As the light turned green, she sighed. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Yes, you should have!" snapped Jazz. "Another big show like that, and-"

"And we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen," Alpha cut her off smoothly. "Song, no more singing in public, and if you develop any more weird powers, please let me know." She sighed. "I suppose I was the one who pushed you up on stage."

"You were," Ember agreed, his narrowed gaze fixed on Jazz.

"I'm sorry about that, then," Alpha sighed. "I suppose that makes this fiasco my fault."

"You didn't know," Shark rumbled. "Not your fault. Not anyone's, really."

Jazz snorted. "I still blame-"

Shark cut her off. "Not Song's fault, either."

Jazz glared. "I was going to say Ember."

Alpha sighed. "Of course you were." The car pulled to a stop in front of a familiar dilapidated apartment complex. "We're home."

As we unloaded ourselves from the van, Alpha told us, "Get some sleep. We're going after those last three hellcows tomorrow."

It turned out there were only two hellcows. The two that had been hanging out together had, as I predicted, attacked each other. One was dead. The other was seriously injured, and was easily dispatched. The uninjured hellcow wasn't much more difficult. And there were no more unexpected surprises.

We returned to the apartment, where Alpha reminded us of the three other jobs on our roster. "Ok, we finished the hellcow run. We still have the one that involves exploding a warehouse. We'll have to hire another runner for that- Unless one of you has demolitions skills I don't know about?"

Jazz, Shark, and I shook our heads, but Ember said, "I could burn it down."

Alpha shook her head. "The Mr. Johnson specified an explosion. Says he wants to 'send a message.'" She shrugged. "The other two shouldn't require extra help. Remember, there's the unspecified job from Stan, and one involving the pickpocket." She looked around. "Jazz, have you done any searches about info on pickpockets?"

Jazz shrugged. "The casefiles for the local Lone Star aren't connected to the matrix anymore, remember? Direct plug in only. Very retro."

"Also very secure," rumbled Shark.

Alpha sighed. "So, to get any info on local pickpocketing, we'll need to break into a Lone Star station. Fragging great."

Jazz shrugged. "Without that data, we won't know where to start."

"We could try to get the pickpocket to target us," Shark suggested. "We know roughly were the original theft was."

"Roughly," Alpha agreed. "But that plan will go better if we have an idea of where the pickpocket is usually active, so we can go straight through the middle of their territory." She chewed her lip, thinking. "Song, did you pick up that invisibility spell formulae I suggested? The one that also fools cameras?"

I nodded. "I picked it up, but I haven't had time to study it yet." I made a face. "It'll probably take 4 or 5 days to learn it."

Alpha nodded. "I have an idea on how to get into the station, but to get the data tap in place, we'll need someone invisible. Song, you get to work learning the spell. In the meantime, we can do the demolitions run. It'll take a few days to line up a runner who can do what we need, anyways. I'll talk to Lucky. If he can't do it, he'll be able to find someone who can."

I blinked. "Lucky does demolitions?" From what I'd seen of him, he was a bit… cavalier to be a successful explosives expert.

Shark sniggered. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He hasn't blown himself up yet, though."

Jazz snorted. "He's gotten lucky. No pun intended."

Alpha shrugged. "Whether through luck or skill, he's good at what he does. And that's what we need."

Discussion over, I headed to my room to begin studying, with Ember following close behind.

Three days later, I was almost done. If I studied late into the night, I'd be able to finish tomorrow. And then we could get started planning the lone star run. Unfortunately, tonight was the night of the explosives run.

Alpha stood in the doorway of my room. Today she was a short, asian woman with a crew cut. "You need to sit this one out, Song."

I frowned. "Can't you delay the run for a few days?"

Alpha shook her head. "No. After this, Lucky isn't available for another month." She sighed. "Don't ask me why. He won't say."

"Probably going to be out of town," rumbled Shark behind her.

Alpha shrugged. "Probably. We'll be fine, Song. I trust Lucky to have our back. He's a bit secretive, but he's solid when it counts."

I nodded unhappily. "When should I expect you back?"

"We'll be in before 3 am," Alpha told me. "Is Ember back yet?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

Alpha sighed. "I wish he'd told us where he was going. Or when he'd be back. Or, well, anything about this little errand of his."

I shrugged. "Technically he's a free spirit. I can't control him. He just likes me enough to do as I ask him. Sometimes."

Alpha frowned. "I don't like leaving you alone like this."

I shrugged. "I've got Paw, and, if I need to, I can summon another spirit."

Alpha nodded. "Still, stay in the apartment, if at all possible. The security Jazz set up isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing." She turned toward the door. "See you later, Song."

Shark turned as well, but looked back at me over his shoulder. "Be safe."

I nodded. "You too, guys. Be safe."

I turned back to my studies, worry twisting into a knot in my gut.

Four in the morning. The others weren't back, and I was worried. I paced in my room as Paw watched anxiously from a corner. "Can you sense Ember at all?" I asked Paw.

It shook its head. "No."

I dialed Alpha on my commlink again. It went straight to voicemail, again. So did Jazz's and Sharks. I swore. Alpha and Jazz might have turned theirs off so the noise wouldn't give away their position, but Shark's commlink was implanted. With no ring or vibration to worry about, he never turned his off. He didn't always answer, but he never turned it off.

Whatever had happened, it was likely over already. But I still had to know. I turned to Paw. "Find Alpha, Jazz, and Shark. If they need help, help them. Then come back and tell me if they're ok."

Paw hesitated. "Do I have to? I don't want to leave you alone."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. Go."

As my bound spirit, Paw had no choice but to obey. With one final lingering look at me, it dematerialized.

I sighed, and began to pace again. What if Alpha, Jazz, and Shark were dead? I swiped away a tear, but could do nothing about the pain and terror that spiked through me. It wasn't just the fear of losing three close friends, though that in itself was bad enough. It was the fear of losing the safety they represented.

No one besides them had a reason to give a drek about my life. That was the chip truth. My mother was dead, likely murdered. Handel was dead as well, definitely murdered. My father had died long ago. No one cared about me, and many had reasons to want me dead.

Unreasoning terror spiked through me. If they were gone, what would I do? Where would I go? What if someone figured out who I really was? What if-?

I broke through the terror. Something was wrong. I'd spiraled into unreasoning fear way, way too quickly for it to be natural. "I know you're there," I said, trying to sound confident even though I was still shaking in fear. "You've got 5 seconds to scram, and then I summon something powerful and come after you on the astral."

A shape materialized. A robed figure. The shadow spirit from the bar. I raise my hands, ready to cast a spell. "I said scram!"

The figure laughed. "You don't scare me, little mage. You are weak, and so very, very alone."

Fear rose to choke me. I backed towards the door. I couldn't seem to look away from the spirit, caught, like a deer in headlights, in the gaze of two glowing green eyes. I could feel the spirit pulling at something inside me, drawing energy from the core of my being. I shook. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I had to do something… I had to… I…

My trembling fingers couldn't seem to work the latch on the door. I couldn't get it open. I was trapped. Trapped in a room with a nightmare.

The nightmare glided towards me. Closer… Closer… I wailed in terror.

The shadow spirit froze, trembling. The terror that imprisoned me eased. My trembling lessened, and I remembered I was a mage. A mage. I could fight back.

I closed my eyes and opened my mind. I needed a protector. A guardian. A powerful one…

With a hollow boom, my summoned spirit appeared between me and the nightmare. It looked like an enormous suit of medieval armor, so tall it had to crouch slightly to avoid touching the ceiling. Its visor was down. Nothing was visible of whoever, or whatever, wore the armor.

It casually backhanded the shadow spirit, sending it crashing into the wall. Then it turned to me. "What is thy bidding, my lady?" Its voice was deep, and had a slight metallic echo.

I blinked, still dizzy from drain, and wiped my nosebleed with my sleeve. "Ummm…"

"I presume you wish me to deal with this ruffian?" It gestured toward the shadow spirit, which rose, hissing, from the floor.

I just stared, shaking, as the shadow spirit glided towards me once more.

"There is little I can do without your command," the guardian spirit reminded me. "Do you wish me to deal with the nightmare? A simple yes will suffice."

I took a deep breath. "Y-yes!"

Without another word the guardian spirit thrust a fist into the shadow spirit's robed form. It dematerialized. Seconds later, the guardian spirit vanished as well.

I leaned against the doorway, panting and trembling. I knew that, on the astral plane, my summoned spirit fought the nightmare. I tried to plan what I would do if my spirit lost. Should I summon another? If I did, I might end up passing out. That would not be good.

The guardian spirit reappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief. "You won?"

"In a manner of speaking, my lady," the spirit told me in its deep voice. "The shadow spirit surrendered. She wishes to make recompense."

I blinked. "Make recompense?"

The shadow spirit rematerialized. I squeaked, and she winced. "I'm sorry. I promise, this time I did not mean to frighten you."

I blinked. "Ok."

She looked away. "I… I heard you sing the night I… Well, you remember. I've been following you ever since. And tonight you were alone, and already frightened…" She looked down. "I thought you would be delicious." Then she met my gaze, green eyes bright with malice. "And you were." She laughed.

The guardian spirit cleared his throat. The shadow spirit looked away again. "I won't do it again. And not because this hulk beat me. Though he did. When you cried out…" She trembled. "It touched me. Deep inside. Like your singing, except… Except it hurt. I could feel your terror. Your pain." She shivered. "I want to make it up to you. To help you." She reached out to me with a skeletal hand.

I drew away, shaking.

The spirit sighed, and dropped her hand. "You'll drive me away, won't you. If you can. I'm frightening. I'm dangerous." She looked at me thoughtfully. "But what if you had a way to control me? Would you drive me away then?"

I swallowed. "What are you talking about? Control you?"

The nightmare met my gaze. "I'm talking about binding."

I blinked. "Shadow spirits can't be bound."

I couldn't see her smug smile, but I could feel it. "That's because, if you didn't summon a spirit, you need its name to bind it. With normal spirits, like this big guy, there are ways to find out. However, a shadow spirit's name must be freely given."

"And you'll give me your name? Just like that?" I asked.

Her green eyes pierced me. "No. Not just like that. You must promise me you will never, ever share my name. With anyone. For any reason. I won't serve just any meatperson. I'd rather die. But you're different. I'll serve you."

"How sweet," a voice said from the opposite corner. I whirled. There was Ember. His eyes met mine. They blazed. "Songbird. Where is Paw? Why wasn't he here to protect you? Or to fetch me?"

I blinked. "The others were late. I sent Paw to find out if they were alright."

Ember's voice was cold. "You should have sent him to fetch me first."

I sighed. "I didn't want to bother you."

"And I don't want you to die!" Ember snapped. "I will admit, this little disaster worked out just fine without me. But what if it hadn't? You're vulnerable, Songbird."

"The fire spirit has a point," boomed the suit of armor. "You are delicate. You must be protected."

I glared at them both. "I protected myself just fine for years before I summoned either of you."

"I'm not sure how," snapped Ember. "It's a dangerous world out there, Song, and you don't seem to realize that."

"Ummm…" This voice came from the direction of my bed. "It's kind of crowded in here, so I materialized on the bed. I hope that's alright."

That was Paw! I turned to face him. "Are Alpha, Shark, and Jazz ok?"

Paw shook his head. "Not really? They sent me to ask you for more help."

I turned to the guardian spirit. "Go with Paw. Help Alpha, Shark, and Jazz however you can." He vanished.

I turned to the shadow spirit. "If you're so serious about helping me, you should go with them and help." She dematerialized. A second later, so did Paw.

I turned to Ember. His expression was mullish. "I'm not going anywhere."

I sighed. "Fine." A shadow spirit, a guardian spirit, and a beast spirit were probably more than enough anyways. I settled down on my bed to wait.

Ember settled down beside me. "Are you wondering where I was?"

I shook my head. "Not really. That's your business."

Ember sighed. "It's actually kind of your business too, Song."

I looked at him. "Can we talk about this later? I'm worried."

Reluctantly, Ember nodded. "Of course." He paused. "Can you sing to me?"

I nodded. "What should I sing?"

He shrugged. "I don't care."

I took a deep breath.

"Shadows and moonlight,

Bargaining with the night.

Sold and bought

Devil's delight.

"The deal that I made,

On the edge of a blade.

Run and fight

Seduce, persuade.

"The guns and the knives,

Then we run for our lives.

Pray and dream

That hope survives.

"Sold and bought,

Run and fight,

Pray and dream,

This is my life.

As I finished, Ember sighed. "That was beautiful."

I smiled. "Thank you." Looking down shyly, I added, "I wrote it myself."

Ember leaned against my shoulder. "Sing to me more."

I complied.


End file.
